Slayers Cure
by Sumeragi Thirteen
Summary: Basically, the Slayers gang is trying to find a cure for Zelgadis. But it's a lot more than that! Chapter 2 and 3 are up! Rate and review!
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: Slayers and all its characters and spells do not belong to me. The events in this fan fic are mine, of course. I wrote this, like, two years ago, (I was 13), so if the style's a little elementary, please be kind! I say this is humor, but it is (or will be) a bit of everything (Romance, Action, Mystery, etc.) The events in this Slayers fiction take place after Slayers Try (last season of Slayers TV series). Anything that contradicts actual happenings in the Slayers shows/movies, is just an accident or something. Remember, this is just a fic! Anyway, enjoy!  
  
Slayers Cure  
  
Chapter 1a  
  
  
  
Lina Inverse held her cards close to her chest as if they were a child. No one could see them except for her own self and Zelgadis, who stood looking over her shoulder. Her opponent mimicked her secretive posture so that he was the only one seeing his own cards. It was times like these when Lina wished she specialized in mind reading. She also wished she could keep her disappointment hidden from the man across from her, since she had the worst hand of cards in the history of man.  
  
But it was too late. The man saw she was at a weak point in the game and took a strike. "Got any," the man whispered in his raspy voice, grinning a huge, toothless grin, "threes?"  
  
Yes, the game is Go Fish. Lina never usually played cards, since serious gamblers never, ever played Go Fish, which was the only card game Lina Inverse knew. There was no time to be a sorceress and a gambler at the same time!  
  
Behind her, Zelgadis sighed and turned away from the table at which the gamblers sat. Lina's opponent stared at the peculiar chimera, knowing that he saw the three right in front of him.  
  
The man smiled and said, "Hand it over, girly."  
  
Cursing, Lina picked the card out of her hand and gave it to the man. He smiled back at her as he placed down his last two cards and grabbed the fifty gold pieces from the center of the table. Putting out his cigarette in the ash tray, he laughed, "Pleasure doin' business with ya!" The three men at his side laughed with him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Lina murmured. She always was a grouch when she didn't win something, whether it be a raffle or a battle. She turned to Zelgadis and said softly enough so that the men on the other side of the table couldn't hear, "I let him win. Let's go."  
  
Zelgadis folded his arms over his chest. "I'm sure." He then followed her out the door of the smoky bar and outside.  
  
Gourry was standing there, looking in the window of a bakery, drooling at the cakes and pastries before him. He turned when he saw Lina's reflection in the window and gave her a smile. "Win anything?"  
  
"Shut up!" Lina answered. She grabbed his hair and pulled him down the road. "You weren't there. That hexed me."  
  
"Usually," Zelgadis said, "you say Gourry gives you bad luck when he is there, don't you?"  
  
Lina lifted her hand as if to hit him, but lowered when she saw that Zel didn't flinch. She then turned and lifted her proud little nose in the air like a rich princess. "I'm hungry, let's go eat."  
  
Zelgadis stopped walking. "What about Amelia?"  
  
Lina turned around and smiled. "Oh, don't worry. Our little princess will know where we are! After all, we told her to meet us at the inn in an hour." Facing forward again, she began to walk down the street.  
  
Zelgadis blushed. "I wasn't worried. More like curious."  
  
"Whatever," Lina replied, not even bothering to turn around.  
  
"Hey, Lina," Gourry said as he brushed off his pants, "Wasn't that three hours ago?"  
  
Before Gourry could even finish the last word, Lina felt the sudden chill she usually gets when she knows Amelia's going to get mad at her. She turned to face Gourry, grabbed his shoulders and said, "Then may God have mercy on our souls!"  
  
They arrived at the inn in the little village in little time. The village was small, but extremely important to both Lina and Zelgadis. Gourry and Amelia could care less, but since they were good friends with Lina, they traveled with her anyway. Zelgadis felt slightly left out, since no one cared where he traveled. Well, maybe Amelia. He always pretended he didn't want help in his quest to find his cure, but in actuality, he needed it. Lina always seemed to know where information about curses and their cures were. This village was one that Lina recommended. All she wanted in this place was the knowledge of strong spells she was curious about. But, alas, this place just used a fake spell book that taught you how to gamble, this village being the gambling capital of the country.  
  
The princess was waiting impatiently in the inn's dinning room, chin resting on her hand, fingers tapping noisily on the table's thick, dark wood. She glared at Lina, Zelgadis, and Gourry as if they had left her behind in some dark forest. Her eyes darted from Gourry to Zel to Lina in a strange pattern. She merely had her eyes on Gourry and Lina for a millisecond, but her eyes stayed on Zelgadis for much longer. When the group finally reached the table, Amelia's face was red with anger and her nails dug into her skin like a bird-of-prey clutching onto its victim.  
  
Finally, after several minutes of silent anger, Amelia spoke. "Where were you guys? We were supposed to meet back here over two hours ago! I thought you said you'd be on time! You lied to me, Miss Lina!"  
  
"Geez, Amelia," Lina replied, acting calm through Amelia's anger. "Two hours is only two hours! What difference does it make if we were two hours or two minutes or two seconds late?"  
  
Amelia slammed her fist on the table. "A lot of difference! You were late!"  
  
Lina only smiled, obviously amused by Amelia's anger and worry. The two men didn't know whose side to take, Lina's or Amelia's. If they took Lina's, they'd be fighting for the wrong side. On the other hand, if they took Amelia's, the right side, Lina would get angry and probably beat both of them up!  
  
"Amelia, you worry too much!" Lina exclaimed. "You act like we were gone for three days!"  
  
"It felt like that," Amelia said rather silently, looking up at Zelgadis, who was trying not to meet her gaze. "You could have been captured. Or hurt. Or dead!"  
  
"Don't make such a big deal out of it! Are we captured? No. Are we hurt? No. Are we dead? I sure hope not! Just take it easy, Amelia."  
  
The princess looked at her hands as if there was something in them to look at. She gave a little sigh then smiled. "Well, you're alright. That's what counts."  
  
Lina smiled back, satisfied that Amelia wasn't angry anymore. "I'll try not to be too late next time, Okay?"  
  
Tilting her head slightly, like she always did when she was happy, she answered, "Okay."  
  
All Zelgadis thought was, "This is much too sappy for me. I'm getting a drink." He moseyed on over to the bar to order something hot, like coffee, or tea. The bartender looked up from cleaning a glass. He had a surprised look on his face, as if he'd seen a ghost.  
  
"Um, sorry, uh, sir," he said, "we don't serve, um, your kind here."  
  
Zel put his hands on the counter and leaned slightly. The man flinched as if Zelgadis was going to hit him. "My kind?"  
  
"L-look," the bartender stammered, "I don't want no trouble." He was ready to duck if necessary.  
  
"What do you mean by 'my kind'?" Zelgadis asked, calmly.  
  
The bartender looked at the people in his inn who were staring at the chimera, waiting for a fight. "N-no trouble, sir."  
  
Zel rolled his eyes. "I don't want any trouble either. I just want to set things straight." He paused, looking behind him, where about twenty people in the crowded room stared back at him, while the others were trying to get a view of him. "What do you mean by 'my kind'?" he repeated.  
  
Reaching under the counter, the tender answered, still stammering like a nervous child, "I'm, I'm n-not aloud t-to s-s-serve th-those of th- the m-monster r-race."  
  
The man ducked, but Zel could have easily hit him, if he had wanted to. People murmured and some made their way towards the door. Zel felt like laughing, kind of. This man had mistaken him for a monster. Sure, to the untrained eye, he did look like one.  
  
"I'm not a monster," the chimera informed.  
  
More murmurs erupted from behind him, some he could even make out, but not totally. He recognized Lina Inverse's voice out of all the others, since hers was the loudest.  
  
"Oh, man!" Lina said behind Zelgadis. "Zel's probably pissed! I hope he doesn't kill the guy. It's an honest mistake, I think."  
  
The bartender started to rise slowly, but shrank back down again when Zel nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Y-you're lying! I know your k-kind when I see y-you!"  
  
Two large men came out of the crowd, obviously the police, or something. They came to Zelgadis's side. One of them put his hand on Zel's shoulder. "Come on, don't cause trouble," he said. His voice didn't match his body, it was high and quiet.  
  
Zel looked up at him. He was at least seven and a half feet tall and unusually chubby. He'd absorb all of Zel's spells with all that fat and muscle, then crush Zel's five foot ten inch body.  
  
Fat burns, he reminded himself in his head.  
  
"Just leave, creature," the other one said, this one about the same height and weight, give or take a pound.  
  
"Creature?" Zel questioned his words, anger billowing up inside. "I'm a human, like you two."  
  
The crowd laughed, except for his friends.  
  
"Yeah, right," the first guy said. "What is that, a costume? makeup?"  
  
Butterflies fluttered inside of Zelgadis and his face was getting red. "It's real."  
  
The two guys chuckled before the second one said, "Then how could you say you're human?"  
  
Some one in the crowd murmured, "Crazies."  
  
"Long story, no time to tell it," Zelgadis answered, making his way towards the door. "See ya."  
  
The whole crowd laughed, Zel thought he even heard Gourry laughing at him, as he pushed his way through the crowd. How could he be so stupid? He was retreating! He never retreats, but now he was because he was too embarrassed. He hadn't retreated when he fought Shabrinigdo, why now?  
  
He walked down the road with Lina, Gourry, and Amelia close behind.  
  
"Wait, Zel!" Lina shouted at him. "Stop!"  
  
He didn't.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia's high pitch voice rang. "You're over- reacting!"  
  
That did it. He turned unexpectedly, causing Amelia to bump right into his chest. She fell backwards onto the ground.  
  
"Over-reacting?" Zel repeated. "You don't know what it's like to live like a side show freak! I mean, look at me!" The three looked at him. "Who would tolerate me? Huh? Who? That's what I thought: nobody! I'm ugly! Uglier than, than, than Xellos!"  
  
Lina and Gourry gave eachother surprised looks. Zelgadis had never compared himself to the Mysterious Priest before. But Amelia stood up.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia exclaimed. "You are NOT ugly at all!"  
  
"Neither is Xellos," Lina whispered to Gourry.  
  
Amelia continued. "This curse, or so you call it, is not a curse at all, but a blessing! The body you live in at the present is more handsome than any others!" (At this point, Zelgadis blushed.) "You should be happy with the way you look now! Like me and Gourry!"  
  
"Hey!" Lina cried. "I'm happy with the way I look too!"  
  
"That's right, Miss Lina," Amelia carried on. "It's okay that some women are under developed."  
  
"Why you little...!" Lina screamed, trying to get to Amelia to choke her, but Gourry held her back.  
  
"Anyway," Amelia started again, "beauty is not on the outside, but the inside. It is only skin-er-rock skin deep! And you can quote me on that!"  
  
Zelgadis's face was a rosy red by the time Amelia finished her last sentence. Sure, this pro-justice, self-esteem enthusiast, princess thought he was handsome, but other people thought he was grotesque! He didn't mention that because Amelia would probably say something like, "It doesn't matter what others think!"  
  
Amelia smiled a big, friendly, sickly smile at him, but he just started walking again. She followed, but Lina and Gourry just said they were going to stay at a different inn for the night.  
  
Zel turned to face Amelia. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia started. "Did you hear what I said?"  
  
After sighing, Zel answered, "Yes. Who couldn't hear you?"  
  
Blushing, Amelia replied, "Did it mean anything to you?"  
  
Rolling his eyes, he asked, "What do you mean by that?" They had been through this before. Amelia had told him how she thought he was handsome, or something like that, and then asked if it meant anything to him. He would always change the subject, or ignore her after he asked, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Um..." Amelia's blushing made her look like a ripe tomato. "Do you, uh, I mean, do you like it when I say things like that?"  
  
Zel rolled his eyes and turned around. "Amelia, I'm just going to say this to you once, not to hurt you, or to make you hate me, but no, I don't like it when you say things like that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm just going to make a camp out in the woods." He hurried away from her so that she couldn't catch up.  
  
Amelia began to turn the opposite way, but stopped to think. He couldn't mean that! He likes me, I know he does. A small tear began to fall from her eye onto her left cheek, but she wiped it away. Love takes awhile. It just does! I can't let one little comment destroy my love for Zelgadis! For the first time, she hadn't thought of him as "Mr. Zelgadis", just plain "Zelgadis". Did she dare think of him like that and make his name so informal? Oh, she dared. With a little girlish giggle, Amelia began to follow Zel's path into the woods. Why? She didn't really know herself, but whatever the reason, she was going to Zelgadis!  
  
Chapter 1b  
  
It was night, several hours after dusk, yet Zelgadis was still awake. Wide awake. Owls and crickets made their nightly noises around him. He secretly thought they must have been mocking him as well. Why was he always being the laughing stalk of everyone's lives? He half expected himself to come up with the wise answer, but, of course, nothing came to his mind.  
  
Sleep seemed like a luxury he could not have at the moment. With eyes sagging, he tried to welcome the sleep, but he was always brought back to the ready position by some noise or another. Then he would lean against a rough tree trying once again to fall asleep, like the rest of the world.  
  
In his mind, he pictured his friends asleep in warm beds, without a care in the world. Lina, with covers all over the place, Gourry in the room next door, snoring like there was no tomorrow, then Amelia...Oh, he didn't really care how she slept, the annoying little brat! What was wrong with her? Her obsession with him was unbearable, probably for both of them.  
  
Before he could stop himself, a picture of Xellos popped into his mind. In the picture, Xellos was sleeping on a hard, dark rock with several spikes shooting out of it. Xellos was tossing and turning in his sleep, as if something was disturbing him. Zel tried desperately to shove the image out of his head, but couldn't. After awhile, the image drew closer to Xellos's face. He seemed much younger, about the age of twelve, maybe eleven. What was that on his face? It was wet, but it couldn't be! Tears? Xellos was crying! Zelgadis almost smiled. If only this were real life. It would be extremely humorous to see this guy crying in his sleep. But this person on the rock didn't seem like the Mysterious Priest at all. Despite his appearance, which was just a youthful Xellos, the monster was totally different, he was more human. Somehow, some way, Zelgadis knew this image was of a boy, not the evil demon he knew all too well.  
  
Just as suddenly as the image popped into his head, it disappeared. Zel tried to picture it again, but couldn't. Why was his imagination doing this to him? What the hell was that image? And, is this a trick? The only answer he could come up with was, "Now that is a secret!", which wasn't what he wanted to hear, especially in his own mind!  
  
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bush behind him. He quickly grabbed his sword and stood in his defensive stance. The rustling only grew louder and spread to other bushes. With sword pointing to the leafy bushes, Zelgadis cried, "Who's there?"  
  
The rustling stopped for a moment, and then a figure came out of the bush and into the little clearing where Zel was camping. It came closer to Zel as he sighed and said, "What do you want?"  
  
It was none other than Princess Amelia. Her nervous smile was spread across her face as she sat down near the fire. She looked up at Zelgadis and her face became solemn.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Zelgadis!" she cried. "I'm sorry I scared you!"  
  
"Scared me?" the chimera replied. "Hardly." Though his heart was beating slightly faster than usual.  
  
Amelia looked at the fire. "I was worried about you."  
  
Zelgadis sighed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need you to worry about me! I'm perfectly fine. Now, if you don't mind, I was drifting off to sleep before you woke me up! Go back to the village!"  
  
"But, Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia stood up and looked at him in the eyes. "It's dark and scary in the woods. I'll never make it back to the village without being attack by some wild animal."  
  
"You're a sorceress," Zel answered, "you'll be fine. Go, please."  
  
With lower lip beginning to tremble, Amelia pouted, "You're right." She slowly walked towards the path. "I'll be fine." She was almost into the darkness. "It's okay if I get a little hurt, right? I mean, no pain no gain. Sure, I'll probably get lost when I'm trying to run from a wolf or whatever. No food and water for several days isn't bad, is it? At least, if worst comes to worst, some one is bound to find my cold, rotting body in the middle of the woods. Hopefully they'll be able to identify me and I'll have a nice funeral."  
  
"Yup."  
  
Tears streamed down her face like waterfalls. She turned away from Zel and walked into the woods, cursing the person who told her that reverse psychology always works.  
  
When she was out of sight, Zelgadis lay back down, not knowing how the hell he was going to get to sleep, or when for that matter.  
  
"Oh well," he thought aloud, "at least Amelia's not here with me." 


	2. Chapter 2

Slayers Cure  
  
Chapter 2a  
  
"Where am I?" Zelgadis thought when he awoke in a strange, dark place. He then realized that this was a dream. All he could do was go through this dream and try not to let it disturb him, just as long as this was not one of those dreams where Rezo killed him, which he had more than often.  
  
He heard footsteps coming towards him. Light, padded footsteps cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter. A figure appeared before his eyes.  
  
"Xellos?" Zelgadis cried as the Mysterious/Trickster Priest's figure became clear.  
  
"Hello, my friend," Xellos Metallium answered, his voice somehow not as nasally. "You've been well?"  
  
Zelgadis cocked his eyebrow at the Priest. "What do you care?"  
  
A smile shot across Xellos's face as if he were not hurt by that expression. "We're friends, aren't we? Why shouldn't I care?"  
  
Springing up from his sitting position he answered, "You've nearly cost me my life, not to mention my cure, for a long time! Calling us 'friends' is a definite over statement."  
  
Xellos drew closer, fondling his staff as if it were a kitten. "Cure? You mean you haven't given up yet? Good. I was hoping you'd say that. You see, I would like to make an exchange."  
  
Zel sat back down, listening intently. What did this monster mean by exchange?  
  
"You see," Xellos continued, "the monster race really has this thing for you and your friends. You know quite well that they've been pissed off at you, Lina, the Princess, and the Swordsman of Light for awhile. Why, ever since Lina destroyed Shabrinigdo some years ago the monster race has been at your backs, waiting for you to drop your guard, or your sorcery powers for that matter."  
  
"Drop our powers?" questioned the chimera.  
  
Xellos grinned evilly. "Yes. You know, lose your powers. The only way to do that is prevent you from using them. Without practice, you'll forget your spells, in time of course. But, that may take awhile, so the monsters have come up with a new plan."  
  
Lying back down, Zel replied, "Why should I believe a dream?"  
  
Totally ignoring the question, Xellos continued, "I'll make a trade with you: I'll tell you where your cure is if you let me tell you what the monsters are planning."  
  
Back up again, Zelgadis said, "That doesn't seem very fair. I'll be getting both ends of the trade. What are you planning?"  
  
Xellos sighed. It was a light sigh, very airy, almost feminine. "Well, the monsters are planning to do something very evil to Lina."  
  
"Why do you care about Lina anyway?"  
  
Surprisingly, the Beastmaster blushed. "I, well, you see, it's just that..."  
  
"Go on." Zelgadis nudged Xellos playfully as if they were best buddies. He had to get this little secret out of him.  
  
Xellos's blush turned to a rosy red as he answered, "I love Lina Inverse."  
  
The first thought that came to Zelgadis's mind was, "Ew." The sheer mention of "love" from a hater of life was sickening. Especially since he was in love with one of Zelgadis's close friends. Then a second thought came to his mind. This was probably one of Xellos's tricks. He said that aloud.  
  
"You never take me seriously!" exclaimed Xellos. "I'm telling the truth. And if you don't mind, I'm a little embarrassed about it."  
  
Zel rolled is eyes. "Yeah, but why would a monster fall in love with a human? And why would it be Lina Inverse?" No offense to Lina, of course.  
  
"I don't know!" Xellos actually seemed mad. "I just don't know!" Another evil grin appeared on his lips. "Why, Zelly-pooh, jealous?"  
  
Unable to control himself, Zelgadis punched the demon smack dab in the nose. "You wish!"  
  
Regaining his normal stance after falling over from the blow, Xellos continued, "Well, I just want to save Lina for once, instead of bringing her into trouble."  
  
"I'm really not buying it."  
  
Xellos shrugged. "Oh well, looks like I'll just have to tell Amelia my little secret about what the monsters are planning. The fate of the world will rest in her hands. I wonder if she can handle it."  
  
It was Zel's turn to shrug. "Why don't you just tell Lina?"  
  
Xellos blushed. "Then she'd wonder why I would be telling her. I can't tell her I have a crush on her."  
  
Sighing, Zelgadis replied, "I guess you're right. Well, just tell me the monster race's secret." He paused, then continued, "Actually, tell me where my cure is first, then the secret."  
  
"Alrighty then," Xellos answered, "fair enough. Now, where should I begin? Ah, yes, as you already know..."  
  
Slayers Cure  
  
Chapter 2b  
  
Amelia walked slowly through the dark woods, glancing over her shoulder more frequently than not as she wiped tears from her rosy cheeks.  
  
"Oh!" she cried. "Where am I? I am lost, I know it!" She stopped and kneeled down on the path. "Why am I so stupid? Why did I have to go after Mr. Zelgadis like that?"  
  
An owl hooted to the left of her, a wolf howled to the right, and the bushes rustled all around her. Desperately, she cast a light spell to show her where these creatures were. Nothing could be seen, except...Amelia screeched as something grabbed hold of her.  
  
Meanwhile, Zelgadis was still in a deep state of REM sleep, dreaming about Xellos, to his disappointment. In his dream, Zelgadis was sitting against the same, large oak he was leaning against when he fell asleep. Across the fire, Xellos sat cross-legged on the forest floor, staff on lap.  
  
"As you already know," Xellos continued, "there are gods and Dark Lords."  
  
The other nodded.  
  
"The Dark Lords are in charge of all that is evil, the gods in charge of all that is good. But what is the in-between? After all, there are some things that are neither evil nor good, or they're both, for that matter."  
  
Zelgadis replied, "Give an example."  
  
A wicked grin shot across the Priest's face. "Well, a good example would be love, I guess."  
  
Zel's ears twitched as he blushed at the mention of love.  
  
Xellos continued, "It's good and full of happiness when you are first in love, but let's say your lover cheats on you, or dies. You will feel an immense pain and sadness. The gods feed on positive emotions of love, like happiness, the Dark Lords feed on the negative emotions of love, like the sadness."  
  
The chimera rubbed his chin with his hand. "I see. But what does this have to do with my cure?"  
  
With a smile, Xellos answered, "Glad you asked. Another example of something that is neither good nor evil nor both is time."  
  
The other looked at Xellos with interest. "Time?" He paused. "I guess you could say that. I can't think of anything that is good, or evil for that matter, about it. I still don't see what this has to do with my cure."  
  
"Well," Xellos said, "You have used powers from the side of good and evil. Why not try using powers from neither, like time."  
  
"How will that help?"  
  
The true evil of Xellos's character was shown at this moment. Not by his actions, or his attitude, but by his wicked smile. "We can manipulate it."  
  
"How?" asked Zelgadis. "Sorcerers have been trying to manipulate time since, well, since sorcery was first discovered."  
  
"Who said we had to ask a sorcerer? I know some one who could help us easily," replied Xellos. "He's the Commander of Time, the guy in charge of running the whole time thing. He can take you back in time to when you were 'normal' and you can prevent Rezo from transforming you into a chimera."  
  
As he cocked an eyebrow, Zel questioned, "Why would this Commander of Time help us?"  
  
Xellos laughed before answering, "Do you know how many people come to visit him each year? None! He'd do anything for a little company!"  
  
"Okay, but where is he?"  
  
The other pondered. "Well, I believe he's located about a two weeks journey from here, a week if you can get a horse. I'll show you, if you wish."  
  
Zelgadis eyed Xellos suspiciously before answering, "Alright, but I don't want any distractions you want us to run into or whatever."  
  
Xellos smiled. "Now why would I do that?"  
  
"Why indeed," Zel answered. "Since you've told me where my cure is..."  
  
"Tell you what the monster race is going to do to kill Lina?" the demon finished for Zelgadis. "Of course," he cleared his throat and said, "Going behind Beast Master's back like this could have me killed, but I'll tell you anyway. Master Zellas Metallium is going to go to the past, around when Lina was born, and kill her. Simple, eh?"  
  
Zel narrowed his eyes. "Too simple."  
  
The monster leaned back against the tree, stretched his legs, and yawned. Before he could finish his yawn, he replied, "Well, maybe. I don't know." He picked a leaf up off the ground and began to pluck bits off the stem as he said, "I'll meet you at the inn where Lina and Gourry are staying at called the Red Goblet. How does three in the afternoon two days from now sound?"  
  
The other nodded.  
  
"See you then." Xellos yawned and disappeared. 


	3. Chapter 3

Slayers Cure  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Amelia sat tied to a chair, a greasy handkerchief over her mouth to keep her quiet. She opened up her eyes to see two, equally greasy men standing directly in her face. Trying to scream, she struggled with the rope, with efforts in vain.  
  
"Heh," the first guy laughed. "Looks like we caught a fighter."  
  
"That's right, Bob," the other guy replied, "a real fighter."  
  
They both chuckled at the same time.  
  
Kicking, Amelia tried to say, "You evil doers! In the name of justice, let me free!", but it came out as a muffled "Ou ewl ors! In de ame o ustice, et e ee!", which ended in a harsh laugh from the guys.  
  
"Looks like our little hostage is dense, or something, Mac," the one called Bob said to the other. More laughing.  
  
"Can't believe this girl's a Seyruun princess, eh?" Mac laughed.  
  
"Well," Bob informed, "I hear this girl's very dear to the prince of Seyruun, so he'd pay a lot of money to get her back alive!"  
  
Amelia kicked Bob where it hurts. Mac laughed.  
  
Bob made a squealing sound as he fell to the floor, clutching his family jewels. "Why you little brat! I outta......" He lunged towards Amelia, but was stopped by Mac.  
  
"We have to make sure she's not hurt or she'll be useless!" exclaimed Mac as he pushed Bob back onto the ground.  
  
"Right, right," Bob said in a high pitched voice as he lay on the ground in pain. "But I'm gonna get back at that stupid, little........"  
  
The princess frowned at Bob. No one captured a Seyruun princess to get ransom money and got away with it!  
  
It was morning now, and Lina and Gourry sat at the table, stuffing their faces with all the best breakfast foods on the menu, and then some. The waitress next to them looked scared as food scraps and silverware flew from the table, but the chef in the kitchen was thinking about how great it was that he was getting all this money from just two customers!  
  
When all the food was gone and Lina thought her stomach was at its limits, she managed to say, "Check.....please."  
  
As the waitress was bringing the check, Gourry said, "Hey, where's Zel and Amelia?"  
  
Lina looked up from the receipt she was checking and answered, "Well, Zel said he was going to camp in the woods. He's probably half way across the world now, so we'll never see him again." When Lina noticed that Gourry didn't get the joke, she added, "Just kidding." Then continued, "Amelia, well, I don't know where she is. She didn't come to the inn last night. Probably followed Zel into the woods." She thought a bit. "But wouldn't Zel tell her to come back here?" A really disturbing thought raced through Lina's mind.  
  
Gourry stared at Lina, waiting. "What is it?"  
  
Her eyes grew wide, her face went white, her mouth went dry. "Zel let Amelia stay at his camp sight!"  
  
Gourry, being the idiot that he was, replied with, "So?"  
  
With eyebrow twitching, Lina put Gourry in a headlock and answered, "So...a guy and a girl alone, in the woods, the dark, cold, scary woods! Use your imagination, Gourry!"  
  
Gourry got out of the headlock and rubbed his chin with his hand. "We used to camp out in the woods alone all the time. So what?"  
  
Without any thought, Lina blushed. "We're different."  
  
"How so?"  
  
Lina sighed. "Amelia is an insane, hormone driven, raving, obsessive lunatic adolescent! She would never, ever let this opportunity slip!"  
  
Gourry nodded before asking, "What opportunity?"  
  
Angry and totally annoyed, Lina punched Gourry in the stomach. "Amelia wants Zel!"  
  
"Wants him for what?"  
  
With a punch, a smack, and a kick, Lina screamed, "She wants to have sex with ZEL!!!!"  
  
The entire inn fell silent. So silent, silence is actually an understatement. All eyes fell on Lina. A mother covered her child's ears. An elderly man shook his head. Lina sat down, cleared her throat and said, "Sorry." The room went back to its usual business after about five seconds.  
  
Gourry whispered, "You didn't have to yell that word so loud."  
  
Lina punched Gourry in the nose. "It's all your fault."  
  
The other nodded. "Guess so." He paused. "But would Zel let her, ya know...?"  
  
Closing her eyes and looking down, Lina answered, "It's a shame. Poor Zel. He didn't have a chance." She sniffed back a tear.  
  
"I'm happy for them," Gourry informed, "they make such a cute couple."  
  
Lina nearly fainted. "But what about Zelgadis? He's lost his innocence! His innocence!"  
  
"Um....What do you care?"  
  
Punch "Oh, I always thought he'd lose it to me," she answered, casually.  
  
Gourry fell off his chair. "You?"  
  
The other shrugged. "I dunno. It just seems that Zel with Amelia or anyone else is just wrong."  
  
Gourry murmured, "I think it would be wrong with you."  
  
Punch  
  
Gourry whined, "Stop! I'm starting to bruise!"  
  
Before Lina could reply, the subject in question walked in. His hood was pulled tightly over his head, eyes darting around the room, looking for anyone who might be staring. His gaze snagged on Lina and Gourry's. Lina shot up and tackled Zel.  
  
"Zel!" she cried. "You poor guy!" She helped him up. "How did she get you to do it? Did she strip first, or just jump right in? Huh? Tell me!"  
  
All Zelgadis could say was, "Um...What are you talking about?"  
  
Lina said, "Have a seat. Tell us all about it. All the gory, gross, disgusting details."  
  
Zel sat in the chair, confused and flustered. "I still don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Poor Zelgadis!" Lina shrieked. "I can't believe she did that to you!"  
  
"Who did what to me?"  
  
Lina leaned in close to Zel and whispered, "You know, what you and Amelia did last night."  
  
Zelgadis backed away from Lina and said, "We didn't do anything last night."  
  
Lina looked at Zelgadis, then to Gourry, then to Zelgadis again. "Oh," she replied. "Guess I was mistaken." She sat back in her chair and sighed while her face turned bright red.  
  
"Well," Gourry said, "where's Amelia?"  
  
Leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest, Zel said, "She followed me last night, but I sent her away."  
  
Lina gave Zel and angry look. "You idiot!" she fumed as she began to strangle him. "You shouldn't have sent her back alone! She was probably attacked by some wild animal or something! You should have known better!"  
  
"I...." Zelgadis struggled to say, "...thought ....she ....could. ...handle. ... herself!"  
  
Lina let go of Zel and sat back down. "You're right, Zel. She should have been able to handle herself." Lina sighed and looked out the inn's window where there was a view of the forest.  
  
Gourry looked too, not quite understanding what Lina was getting at, but he had an idea. "Should we look for her?"  
  
The sorceress stood and walked towards the door after nodding. Gourry followed, but Zel stayed behind. Lina turned around to wait for Zel, but he wouldn't stand. "Coming?"  
  
"No," Zelgadis sighed. "I'd better wait here, just in case she comes back."  
  
"Hold on a sec!" Lina cried. "It's your fault she's missing! You and I should go look for her. Gourry can stay here and wait."  
  
Zel looked confusedly at Lina. "Why would you want to look for her?"  
  
The other looked as if she was offended. "Why? Well, Amelia is my very good friend. Why shouldn't I be out looking for her? I'm shocked that you would think I wouldn't want to look for her."  
  
Another sigh escaped Zelgadis's mouth. This was pretty unexpected of Lina Inverse, who only cared for one person: herself. There was something wrong with Lina today, something that Zel just couldn't put his finger on. Maybe it was the way she was shaking her head at him, but it seemed like...  
  
"Let's go!" Lina called from outside. Zel had been thinking so hard that he hadn't even noticed Lina leaving the inn.  
  
"Coming," he said dryly, pulling his hood further over his head. 


End file.
